Its Register listings are the Grace Episcopal Church, the Mt. Zion Memorial Church and the Harrington. Below: 1 old photo or paper and old-book passages.
From Mount Vernon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Mount Vernon began
When was Mount Vernon founded?
1870
The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Widgeon (1883) and Victor (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 761156 years
How historic is Mount Vernon?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mount Vernon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Mount Vernon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Vernon is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Vernon’s overall grade.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Vernon’s 28.1 sits above most of its state (77% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Mount Vernon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Mount Vernon had its own post office from 1870 to 1909. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mount Vernon
1870–1909
Widgeon
1883–1901
Victor
1885–1901
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pine BeachPolk RoadVictorWidgeon
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mount Vernon
Asbury MethodistJohn WesleyMount Grace Episcopal
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Mount Vernon, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mount Vernon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mount Vernon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. The population was 761 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 779 to 761 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Mount Vernon in 1882
Passages that mention Mount Vernon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Early in September, 1781, there was great commotion at Mount Vernon, greater than when, a few months before, small British armed vessels had come up the Potomac, plundering and destroying on every hand. 'One of these, on that occasion, hpd approached Mount Vernon with fire and sword, and Lund Washington had purchased the safety of the estate by giving the commander refreshments and supplies. For this the master of Mount Vernon rebuked him, saying, "It would have
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mount Vernon, where he was on terms of the greatest intimacy with Washington and his family. Mr. Irving gives the following example of Lee's perfect familiarity with his chief, when nil a visit at Mount Vernon after the war: " Washington one day at table mentioned his being in want of carriage-horses, and asked Lee if he knew where he could get a pair.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Mount Vernon, 1870 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mount Vernon rank for history?
Mount Vernon is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Mount Vernon?
Three places: the Grace Episcopal Church (listed 1990), the Mt. Zion Memorial Church (2007) and the Harrington (1975).
How old are the homes in Mount Vernon?
13% of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 2002.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
